Mother is accused of leaving baby

Daughter found after midnight on street corner

A 20-year-old Chicago woman was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment Friday after she allegedly left her 8-month-old girl in a stroller on the corner of 37th Street and King Drive shortly after midnight.

Pauline Garnett, of the 6100 block of King Drive, was cited and released Friday after she called authorities to report her daughter missing.

Police became involved when a CTA bus driver called at about 12:24 a.m., saying he had been flagged down by three passersby who had found the child. The witnesses had seen a man and woman argue and then stalk away in separate directions, leaving the infant abandoned in a stroller, police said.

Witnesses said that after the argument, Garnett headed westbound with her two older children, ages 2 and 3, and the man walked southbound.

While the witnesses and driver waited in the bus for officers to arrive, police received a call from Garnett, who said her infant had been taken.

Garnett was taken to the bus, where she identified the child and witnesses identified her, police said.

The mother told police she thought the man, who is the child's father, had taken charge of the infant in the stroller.

A police spokesman said the investigation is continuing and that they are planning to interview the infant's father.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services placed Garnett's three children in the custody of their maternal grandmother, Sharon Garnett, who cares for them while her daughter works.

A spokesman for DCFS said the agency is investigating the case and that it has had no prior contact with Garnett.